


Sad Girls In Snow

by KB9VCN



Category: El Hazard: The Magnificent World
Genre: Angst, Gen, Humor, One Shot, Snowball Fight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2002-07-31
Updated: 2002-07-31
Packaged: 2018-09-06 16:18:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8760226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KB9VCN/pseuds/KB9VCN
Summary: Written July 2002; angst/humor; about 2300 words.
"Go to your Happy Place, Piro!  Sad Girls In Snow!" —Megatokyo
This takes place shortly after the end of the first OVA series.  I imagined it as the first time Ifurita and Afura spoke alone.
This contains slapstick violence.  Reader discretion is advised.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written July 2002; angst/humor; about 2300 words.
> 
> "[Go to your Happy Place, Piro! Sad Girls In Snow!](http://www.megatokyo.com/index.php?date=2001-07-09)" — _Megatokyo_
> 
> This takes place shortly after the end of the first OVA series. I imagined it as the first time Ifurita and Afura spoke alone.
> 
> This contains slapstick violence. Reader discretion is advised.

Winter had come to Roshtaria.

Much of the kingdom enjoyed a warm Arabic climate, and except for the occasional heavy rainfall, late in the season, winter passed more or less without notice. But the mountainous border-lands, the domain of the mysterious priestesses of Mount Muldoon, had a much colder winter season, especially in the higher altitudes of the line of mountains.

Very few people had stood in the mountains high above Roshtaria, and looked back down and out at the countryside below them. Fewer still had remained there after dark, and practically none had come to be there on a cold winter night. Such a rare experience was known only to the priestesses themselves, and the occasional super-strong mountaineer.

And now, a demon god.

Ifurita stood, still and silent, and looked out across the world, from the highest ridge of a snow-covered mountain. It was obvious that she had flown there. There were no tracks in the snow around her, no marks of a difficult climb to the top of the ridge where she stood. And she stood so still, and so silently, that she might have been taken for a statue that had been there for years.

She had stood like this for some time, unaffected by the cold, yet keenly aware of the sights, and silence, of this place.

The nearest artificial light, or man-made fire of any kind, was many kilometers away. But the moon was nearly full, and the snow that covered the mountain peaks seemed to glow. And the few bare patches of mountainous granite had faded to black.

It was a black-and-white world, under a clear black-and-white sky of stars. And she, with her black cloak and alabaster skin, might have been taken for a black-and-white figure herself.

If only it was a black-and-white world, she thought. If only everything was black and white. When she had served the master of the key-staff, everything had been black and white. But now... now that she was free...

She would never regret the destruction of her control circuit. She could never wish to serve another master of the key-staff.

But a part of her wished that she might stand like this forever. No more choices. No more uncertainties. No more shades of gray.

Freedom meant choices had to be made. No choice was certain. Mistakes could be made at every turn. And when one is a demon god, any mistake, the slightest mistake, could be... deadly.

Her mind was artificial in origin. It combined the precision of a computer with the long-suppressed emotion of a woman. Neither of these seemed to be enough to help her cope with her past... or her future.

She remained still and silent, but inwardly, she smiled a sad smile. Oh, Makoto, she thought. You worry for me when I think of my past. You try to keep me pre-occupied, so that I will not think of it. I know that you do this, and I love you dearly for it.

But... what of my future? My future with you... and without you?

The future is unwritten, like unbroken snow. But the past is not like the snow. It will never melt. It remains behind us, forever frozen, showing every step we have taken. It remains forever frozen in my mind. The mind of a demon god, with perfect memory, total recall of every experience. Every choice. Every mistake.

And now, I have a new life. I have done terrible things, but I served the master of the key-staff. I am free now, and I have a new life. My future lies before me, like the snow of these mountains. And I am now responsible for my own choices, and my own mistakes.

And I am... afraid... to take even one more step. To choose. To make the first mistake...

In her mind, she smiled another sad smile. Ah. Makoto is right. I should keep myself pre-occupied. I should not think like this. If I think like this, I may end up... frozen in the snow. Unable to move. Unwilling to take even one more step.

And it is very beautiful here. Can I not pre-occupy myself with the beauty of this place? Do not think of the future, or the past. Enjoy the present.

She allowed her thoughts to wander in other directions, in ways indescribable to those who have not shared a telepathic link to a demon god. She did not come to herself until another also came to her.

The other had also flown to this place— a figure in green, come to this black-and-white world. She lit on the ridge, close enough to Ifurita to speak comfortably, but not too close.

Ifurita greeted her without moving. "Priestess Afura Mann."

Afura had landed, facing in the same direction as Ifurita faced. She returned Ifurita's greeting, also without moving. "Ifurita."

Ifurita seemed unaffected by long silences, but Afura spoke again before the silence made her uncomfortable. "Is something wrong?"

Ifurita finally moved. She turned to Afura, and answered with a sad smile. "Do I pass so little time away from Makoto, that finding me alone is cause for concern?"

Afura stammered. "Ah. That is, uh—"

Then Ifurita smiled more warmly. "I have answered your question with another question. This is rude, is it not? I apologize. And I have trespassed? I apologize for this too. Do you wish for me to leave?"

"Not at all," Afura said. "I wouldn't have even known you were here, if I hadn't happened to be coming back to the temple from this direction. If you like this place, please feel free to come here whenever you wish."

_As if you needed my permission to be anywhere,_ Afura thought. _As if I could turn you away._

"Thank you," Ifurita said.

"But..." Afura continued, hesitantly. "If... you don't mind my asking... why AREN'T you with Makoto now?"

Ifurita smiled warmly, again at the mention of his name. "Dr. Schtalubaugh recently acquired a small collection of ancient books from a private collector. Makoto went without sleep for nearly thirty-six hours, reading them. He finally fell asleep four hours ago. I did not wish my presence to disturb his rest, as... I know it sometimes does..."

"Only thirty-six hours, eh?" Afura chuckled. "Amateur."

"Dr. Schtalubaugh surmised that you might have some interest in the books yourself," Ifurita noted. "I do not know if it is my place to say so, but I am sure that you would be welcome to come to the palace and peruse them, at your leisure."

"Thank you," Afura said.

They fell silent again. Afura began to work up enough nerve to speak again, but then Ifurita broke the silence first. "I have not answered your first question. I apologize again. But I find myself in a... strange mood... and I do not have a simple answer.

"I think... No. Nothing is wrong. Everything is as well as it could be. Tell me, Priestess Afura Mann—"

"Please. 'Afura'." Afura smiled.

"Afura. Do you often find yourself thinking of the future?"

Afura breathed out heavily and rubbed her neck. "Well... that's kind of vague..."

"Yes," Ifurita agreed, "it is."

"Ah," Afura said.

Ifurita continued. "I do not know if it is appropriate, or even possible, to speak of such things with you. You are little more than twenty years of age? And yet... forgive my saying this... you have so little time left to you..."

"Well, thank YOU," Afura huffed. But then, she grinned. "No, no... no offense taken. Ifurita, I'm curious, and since you've brought it up... Are you immortal?"

"For all practical purposes, yes," Ifurita said. "I suspect I was designed for strength and endurance rather than longevity. But the effect is the same. My self-diagnosis and self-repair systems are capable of perfect reconstruction, or close enough to perfect that I cannot tell the difference.

"But... having been created for battle... I also suspect that I was not designed to deal with... an eternal life of peace..."

"Ah," Afura said again. "Culture shock."

"Something like that, I suspect, yes," Ifurita agreed. "Makoto is very caring, and very wise... but he is only one man. And, perhaps, another point of view, another opinion, would be helpful to me. Tell me, Afura... Do you have any advice for me?"

Afura shivered. It was only partly from the cold. "If there were a secret to a happy life," Afura thought out loud, "I would have hoped that YOU could have told ME what it was."

Ifurita looked at Afura in confusion.

"Ifurita... Like you said, I'm young. And I'm a great priestess of wind, but most of my training was in the mastery of my lamp. That makes me something like you, actually— a living weapon. But we couldn't be more different, in so many other ways.

"Your mind must work so much differently than mine. And your senses must be much more acute. I don't know if you experience the passing of time in the same way as I do, or if you learn things differently, or if you truly have human emotions... or something even more sublime...

"And I've had a lonely life, but actually, I've been content with my lot, for the most part. Forgive MY saying THIS, but you must have known greater suffering than I'll ever know. More so than I'd first thought, myself, now that I've come to talk with you...

"But it is said that compassion... and understanding... and wisdom... may come from great suffering..."

Afura trailed off, and pondered what she had said, herself.

And Ifurita did not reply for some time. When she finally did, she did so quietly. "Your words comfort me, Afura. I only hope that they prove to be true."

Afura turned to face Ifurita, and gave her a sad smile too. "Yes, well, I believe that they just might." And then she turned away.

And after another lengthy silence that was strangely comfortable, Afura spoke, also quietly.

"Ifurita? For what it's worth. I'm so sorry."

And, once again, Ifurita did not reply for some time.

"Thank you, Priestess Afura Mann."

After what must have been a few minutes of silence, after that, Afura shivered again. But this time, it was almost entirely from the cold. She smiled to herself. "Ifurita? I'd better get back to the temple. I'm cold, and, to be honest, a little tired, and I was already running late, before this. I don't want to— OOF!!"

Afura had the wind knocked out of her, before she could finish, by a rather large snowball to the solar plexus. Then she gasped loudly, as she danced in place, trying not to lose her balance on the narrow ridge.

After regaining her composure, she breathed out in relief. She looked down the less steep side of the ridge, in front of her.

And she growled. "Shayla..."

Shayla looked up at her, from several meters below her, along the side of the mountain. "THAT is for making me worry enough to come looking for you."

Afura sighed. "Couldn't you have found a more mature way to express your feelings?"

Shayla pulled at an eyelid and stuck out her tongue. "Bleah."

Afura shook her head. "I shall never understand how a tactless unrefined vulgarian like you ever—"

Shayla grinned. "Aw, give me some credit. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a snowball when you're the great priestess of fire? Damn thing melts before you can throw it."

Afura turned back to Ifurita. "Allow me to apologize, deeply and sincerely, for this childish display of aggression by that empty-headed excuse for a great priestess of— URK!!"

Afura had foolishly turned away from Shayla, and Shayla had taken full opportunity of this opening. In fact, she had got an even better shot in this time, and she succeeded in throwing Afura completely off balance.

"Eep!" said Afura, as she disappeared over the ridge.

"Look, Ifurita," Shayla said, "you can stand out here in the cold and the snow, by yourself, or you can come to the temple and have cocoa and marshmallows, or a little hot buttered rum, around the fireplace, with me and Kauru. I know what I'D rather do."

Shayla grinned again as Afura rose up through the air, over the ridge. "Or... you could hang around here and watch me wipe out the bookworm."

As Shayla kneeled down and began packing another snowball, Afura sighed theatrically. "Oh, Shayla. You know oh so little of the world of hurt that you're about to enter..."

Afura held her open hands out and summoned up a tiny whirlwind. It glittered with reflected moonlight as it took up loose snow from the ground. Several perfectly spherical snowballs began to form within it.

Ifurita raised an eyebrow. Then... she smiled. She held her key-staff upright, and pushed the small end into the snow, and left it standing upright beside her. She stooped down herself, packed several snowballs in the blink of an eye, and then stood up as she juggled them with demon-god accuracy.

"Perhaps... I shall do more than watch," Ifurita said, looking purposefully at Shayla.

Shayla gulped. "Hey, wait a minute! Even if you weren't a demon god— that's not fair, teaming up with her!"

Ifurita turned, still juggling the snowballs, and looked to Afura with no less purpose. "Why do you assume that I am teaming with anyone?"

As Ifurita smiled menacingly, Shayla gulped again, and Afura gulped with her in perfect unison.

"Uh, Afura?" said Shayla, without looking away from Ifurita. "Truce? In the face of a greater common opponent?"

"Agreed... For what little good it will do us." Afura sighed. "It's been nice knowing you, Shayla."


End file.
